Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Once again..7-8 passenger vehicle recommendations?

So I guess "ugly" is not a consideration?

It is considered a positive feature. Let's call it... identifiable. We own a silver Civic. It's kinda hard to find in a parking lot.

Ford's EcoBoost is a nice system, if that's an option of the Flex models you're looking at. I've rented several Fusions with that option - mileage and passing power when you need them.

Reliability ain't great on the EcoBoost, and it's a pretty significant premium, so unfortunately we're not.

Ford has beautiful paint colors.

And all of the Flexes I saw were white.

I thought it was a really good vehicle, and we almost bought it; I was just seduced by the MDX driving experience. Lured, if you will.

Better than Nissan's paint colors, let me tell you. With the Quest, you can get it in white, black, grey, grey, grey, or grey.

I ended up with a Flex rental a while back. Took me some time to suck up my pride and actually get in it, but I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with it. The one I rented was AWD, and there was plenty of snow/ice/slush on the road. It performed admirably on all season tires. I bet with some Blizzaks, it would be extremely good. If I were in your shoes Ken, I'd probably look at one. I'd end up with a suburban, but we have Moose to worry about while travelling about, and I prefer a larger vehicle after hitting one many years ago and totalling a 3/4 ton Suburban, but no one sustained any injuries (so small rigs are not good for winter travel). Another good thing about the Flex, is that it's so low to the ground, you could slap some luggage racks on the roof, and actually be able to put crap up on them without a ladder in a parking lot (like long boards and things).

We're pretty much at the Flex on the emotional level, but it is more expensive than a Quest, and we didn't actually try out any with cloth seats, which is probably what we'll end up with. We'll see what we end up with; it'll probably be a few weeks or so. Famous last words...

Sorry - late to the party, so some quick input.

From an SUV perspective, I LOVE my 2014 MDX. No one mentioned the Nissan Pathfinder - 7 passenger and worth a look. You already looked at the Flex.

Van - the Odyssey is generally regarded as the best. My daughter just got a 2014 and loves it. Great gas mileage for a van. Quest is also a good choice.

Here is the deal on SUVs. They handle/ride more like a car, especially my MDX ( and surprisingly, the Odyssey is a great surprise for car-like handling). We got it for the additional size and that brings 7 seat capability (sort of). The third row in an SUV is NOT without it's challenges for ingress/egress as Tom mentioned. Although there is entertainment value in watching my wife try it out, I believe you have 3 kids and I don't know what that means relative to car seats. 3rd row car seats would pretty much eliminate traveling for us.

My daughter loves her Odyssey. Vans are simply easier to deal with because of the large sliding doors. They just work MUCH better with a bunch of kids. It's what we would have with kids involved. The Odyssey, at the lower end of the "pimp your ride" scale has some pretty neat stuff included and it is affordable for what you get, 28 highway mpg and the reliability. If I had a nudge vote for you, it would be the Odyssey.

Also, you mentioned cloth seats. Reconsider leather. Worth the $$ for the comfort and spills can be easily wiped up.

A side comment. I have NEVER understood why people are willing to pay $3000-$5000 more (per vehicle) to get a package that includes built-in navigation and a bunch of esoteric stuff you don't need. Top 'o the line Garmins are big enough, transferable to any of your vehicles AND easy to update and come in at ~ $350. And at that price, you get free map updates, traffic capability and voice control. Just a pet peeve.

So there is my late and unsolicited input. I Hope it helps.

Oh, no interest in the built in nav or any of that crap. Unfortunately, in this segment, everything's been "simplified." So the leather package on both of the ones we're considering includes various doodads we don't need.

We looked into a Pathfinder, but the interior looked pretty small after the Flex, Quest, Odyssey, et al.

Pretty sure we're going for the Flex, but it's a process that we're still sort of inching towards. The old Volvo hasn't fallen apart yet...